In 1763, Samuel Johnson, British writer and lexicographer, met
his future biographer and traveling companion James Boswell for
the first time in Tom Davie's bookshop in London.

In 1770, at Versailles, the French Dauphin (who would become
Louis XVI) married Marie Antoinette, daughter of Empress Maria
Theresa of Austria.

In 1811, in the Peninsular War, the French under Marshal
Nicolas Soult were held by an allied force of 46,000 at the
battle of Albuhera.

In 1868, in the United States, the Senate voted on one count in
the impeachment proceedings of President Andrew Johnson. The
vote fell one short of the two-thirds majority needed to take
action. On May 26, further charges similarly failed and he was
acquitted.

In 1881, the first electric tram went into public service in
Germany, near Berlin.

In 1888, Emile Berliner gave the first demonstration of flat
disc recording and reproduction before the Franklin Institute in
Philadelphia.

In 1929, in Hollywood, the first Academy Awards, presented by
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, went to actress
Janet Gaynor and actor Emil Jannings. The best film was
"Wings." The awards were named Oscars in 1931.

In 1943, in World War II, British Lancaster aircraft
succeeded in bombing the Mohne and the Eder dams in Germany's
industrial Ruhr basin using a bouncing bomb.

In 1963, U.S. astronaut Gordon Cooper in his Mercury-Atlas
craft splashed down near Midway in the Pacific after orbiting
the Earth 22 times in a mission lasting just over 34 hours -- the
longest American space mission so far.

In 1967, French President Charles De Gaulle spoke of
"formidable obstacles" in Britain's application to join the EEC,
a virtual veto.

In 1969, the Russian spacecraft Venus 5 landed on the planet
Venus.

In 1974, Helmut Schmidt was sworn in as new chancellor of West
Germany, after the resignation of Willy Brandt.

In 1975, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei became the first
woman to climb Everest.

In 1986, the members of the military junta which lead
Argentina to defeat in the 1982 Falklands war with Britain were
sentenced to between eight and 14 years imprisonment and
stripped of their rank. Former President Leopold Galtieri was
sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

In 1989, a car bomb in Beirut killed the religious leader of
Lebanon's Sunni Muslims, Sheikh Hassan Khaled, and at least 21
others. The Grand Mufti of the Republic was 68.

In 1989, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Chinese leader
Deng Xiaoping met in Beijing in the first Sino-Soviet summit in
30 years, formally ending the feud between the two countries.

In 1990, Sammy Davis Jr, American entertainer, died of throat
cancer.

In 1990, Jim Henson, the man who created the Muppets and took
Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and an ever-complaining Oscar the
Grouch to international stardom, died.

In 1990, Hungarian Prime Minister-designate Jozsef Antall
named a center-right coalition Cabinet after 40 years of
Communist rule.

In 1991, Queen Elizabeth, on a tour of the United States,
became the first monarch to address Congress.

In 1993, Suleyman Demirel was sworn in as Turkey's ninth
president, succeeding Turgut Ozal, who died on April 17.

In 1995, Lola Flores, fiery Spanish dancer and singer, died.
She made many films but was best known for her flamenco
movements and passionate songs.

In 1996, Romano Prodi, leader of the victorious Olive Tree
alliance in the Italian elections, was asked to form the new
government.

In 1997, Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko left Kinshasa and
said he was giving up executive powers but keeping the title of
president.

In 1997, director Giuseppe De Santis, one of the fathers of
postwar Italian cinema and perhaps best known for his 1949 film
"Riso Amaro" (Bitter Rice), died.

Newslink

Frank Sinatra -- singer, actor, legend -- had a lasting impact on millions around the world.